Pressure regulator



5am, W, 135. A. D. MacLEAN ET AL M Y PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed Au 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Isnnentor Sept. 17, 1935. A. D. M cLEAN Eh AL PRES SURE REGULATOR Filed Aug. 19, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 PRESSURE REGULATOR Allen D. MacLean, Wilkinsburg, and Walter H. Parker, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Pittsburgh Equitable Meter Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 19, 1930, Serial No. 476,418

Claims. (Cl. 5027) 5; In thev distribution of gas to the various conlater. 5:;

sumers it is necessary that the pressure of the A further object of this invention is to providea gas inithe consumers lines be maintained within pressure'regulator in which the valves and valve rather close limits, usually' about four ounces of seats may be readily disassociated from the valve pressure'being: maintained inthese lines. Howcasing by the removal of four cap screws, sa-idcap 1m ever? it is not practical for the'gas'companies to screws serving to connect the main valve casing maintain: this low pressureinthe main conduits positioned in the'service line, with the regulator of; thesystem: and therefore it is usual practice to or diaphragm casing. provide pressure regulators interposed between A further object of this invention is to-provide the mainr distributing lines and. the consumers a pressure regulator having a valve casing and a lines-forimaintaining a: constant pressure in the diaphragm casing detachably secured together; 151; consumers lines. These'pressure regulators are the diaphragm casing carrying the valves and quite frequently positioned at rather inaccessivalve seats for the valve casing, these'members ble points where: they'are subject to severe usage being removable from the valve casing when the for long periods of time without careful servicdiaphragm casingis' detached.

c ing-v thereof or checking of. the'mechanism. Fun A further object of this invention is'to provide 20:, therm'ore; due to the large number of distribua pressure regulator in which the fiowcont-rolling tionrlines-of the various gas companies, it is necesvalve mechanism is carried by the'diaphragmicassary that a great number of these regulators be ing and is removable from the valve casing employed; Therefore; these pressure regulators through an opening therein, the diaphragmcasmust be-reliablet in their operation with" little ating and the valvecasing being indirect communi- 25; tention', and. yet should be relatively cheap to cation by way'ofthe-opening through which the manufacture since: a great number of them are valve mechanism ispositioned inthe valve casing.- used. These and various other objects of our inven- Oneobject of. ourinvention therefore is to protionwill be apparent from the following descripvide an improved: regulator'for use between the tion'and the appended-claims when taken in con-- 30.- main' gas'lines'anditheconsumers lines-of a gas junction with the accompanying drawings, dlstributionr'system; that is thoroughly reliable in wherein- 1 itsoperatiomaccuratein its adjustment of pres- Figure 1 is a sectional View through one form sures;.and will'maintain its accuracy over long of our improved pressure regulator and taken periods of: time without servicing. substantially on line l'! of Figure 2. r 35.;

Another'object' of ourinvention' is to provide a Figure 2 is an end elevation of the regulator regulator of: the above describedztype'which may shown-in Figure 1'. beserviced when necessary with a minimum of V Figure 3 is a sectional View showing the cover labor and intheshortest possibletime; member adapted to be secured to the valve cas- Since thesegas. pressure regulators are intering of our regulator when the valves thereof are 40;

posed directly' in the consumers line, service of being serviced; gas to the. consumer isusually interrupted when Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views of slightly it is necessary to servicethe regulator, such as modified formsof our invention; torre-grind or res-face the'valve and the-valve seat", Referring to Figures 1', 2 and 3, there is pro- .45? Thiszis frequently a serio-us disadvantage, since in videda main valve casing I having an interior many casesitheconsumer must have a constant dividing wall 2 for separating the inlet opening supply'ofgasfor 24hoursand interruption to the 3: from the outlet opening 4. The valve casing I" service is quite inconvenient. In some cases it has has anopening-Ein-the upper wallthereofdefined been:necessary-'to resort to a parallel conduit arby an annular flat surface 6;

503 ranged around'th'e regulator, which can be opened A removablediaphragm casing is adaptedto be when. it is necessary to disconnect" the regulator detachably securedtothe valve casing I overthe fb-r'servicing the same. opening 5 therein said diaphragm casing having Another object of this invention therefore is fiat surfaces for cooperation with the annular surtoprovidiea pressure regulator for interposition face 6 on the valve casing; with a gasket 6 for -betwecnla gas mairrandiaconsumers line'thatl' forming afiuid-tight joint? V This. invention. relates to a. pressure regulator and more particularly to a regulator adapted to maintain azconstant' pressure in aservice main. or pipe of a gas distributing system.

may be serviced without disconnecting the entire regulator from the service line, and. one in whichthe service to the consumer need not be: interrupted during the period of servicing the regu- This diaphragm casing comprises the lower section 1 and the upper section 8 secured together by machine bolts 9 clamping the outstanding flanges II and I2 into firm engagement, with the flexible diaphragm l3 therebetween. The diaphragm l3 separates the interior of the diaphragm chamber into upper and lower compartments, said diaphragm being secured to a vertically reciprocating valve stem M by locknuts l5 on said valve stem, there being pans l6 and l l on opposite sides of the diaphragm. A weight I8 is positioned within the upper pan It on top of the diaphragm.

The lower portion 1 of the diaphragm chamber has an annular surface I 9 for cooperative engagement with the annular surface 5 of the valve casing I, there being a central opening defined by the annular surface IS. A central hub portion 2| is secured to the lower diaphragm chamber 1 by a spider 22, for defining a bearing for the reciprocating valve stem I4. The diaphragm chamber has integrally formed therewith a depending valve cage 23 which is adapted to be positioned within the Valve casing I through the opening 5 therein. The valve cage 23 has a lower annular portion 24 which is adapted to be seated against a shoulder 25 formed on the partition wall 2 of the valve casing, with a gasket 24' therebetween. The valve cage 23 is adapted to receive a removable valve seat 26, said valve seat being screw-threadedly engaged with the cage, a gasket 2'! being interposed between corresponding shoulders on the valve cage and the valve seat. The valve rod i4 extends downwardly through the valve seat 26 and has two oppositely facing valve members 29 and 3! secured thereon by locknuts 32, with spacing washers 33 between said valve members. These valve members 29 and 3| are adapted for seating engagement on opposite sides of the valve seat 26.

A removable threaded plug 35 is provided in the bottom of the valve casing I by means of which any collected sediment in the bottom of the valve casing may be drained off. The valve casing l and the diaphragm casing formed by the members I and 8 are secured together by cap screws 35, which pass through openings in an outstanding flange 31 on the valve casing l and engage in threaded knobs 38 on the lower portion 1 of the diaphragm chamber. The diaphragm chamber is further provided with a threaded opening 4! for the reception of an elbow 42 to which is removably secured a safety valve or vent assembly 43 for relieving excess pressure from the lower half of the diaphragm chamber.

A sleeve 44 is threadedly engaged with the upper end of the valve rod l4 and extends upwardly through a central opening in the upper portion 8 of the diaphragm chamber. 'The sleeve 44 is adapted to receive in its upper end the lower threaded shanks of an eye-bolt 45, there being a conical rain shield 46 secured against the end of the sleeve 44 by a locknutfl. The eye 43 of the eye 'bolt 45 is adapted to receive a pin 49, upon which is pivotally secured the lower end of links 5!. The upper end of the links 5| extend on opposite sides of a lever 52 connected thereto by a pin 53.

The lever 52 is pivoted on a pin 54 mounted at the upper end of a rigid upright member 55 re- The upper casing 8 of the diaphragm chamber is provided with a vent cap 62 which is shaped to prevent entrance of rain into the diaphragm chamber, said vent cap- 52 being screw-threadedly engaged with a nipple G3 which is threaded into a corresponding opening in the upper chamber 8.

As seen in Figure 3, a cover member 65 is furnished with each of the regulators, said cover member having a plurality of threaded openings 63 spaced so that the threaded ends of the cap screws 35 may engage therewith. When the diaphragm chamber is removed from the valve chamber the cover 65 may be positioned thereon and secured by the cap screws 36 so that service to the consumer need not be interrupted while the valve and valve seat are being serviced.

The operation of the embodiment of our invention as thus described is as follows. With the parts assembled as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the inlet service pipe connected at 3 and the outlet service pipe connected at 4, the diaphragm l3 assumes a position dependent upon the adjustable weights 58 and dependent upon the pressure in the low pressure side of the service main. It will be noted that the upper portion of the valve chamber casing l is in direct communication with the diaphragm chamber beneath the diaphragm thereof by way of the central opening 5 in the valve casing and the corresponding opening in the lower half '5 of the diaphragm chamher. Thus it is unnecessary to provide an additional pipe connecting the low pressure side of the service main with the diaphragm chamber. Furthermore it is unnecessary to provide packing means around the reciprocating valve stem 54, whereby the regulator is extremely sensi tive to small pressure changes. The pressure from the low pressure side of the valve casing is therefore transmitted to the lower half of the dia phragm chamber, and the upper half of the diaphragm chamber is subjected to atmospheric pressure by way of the vent cap 52. The valves 3! and 29 regulate the passage of fluid through the valve seat ill in a well known manner.

When it becomes necessary to service the valve .1

or the valve seat, the cap screws 36 are removed and the entire diaphragm casing is disconnected from the valve casing As seen clearly in Figure 1, the valve cage 28 is of such diameter that it may be readily withdrawn from the valve casing I through the opening 5 thereof and the entire valve and its assembly are thus removed when the diaphragm casing is separated from the valve casing. The cover member may then be positioned on the valve casing and secured there- 55- to by the cap screws 36 and service may at once be resumed in the service mains. Thus the time of interruption of flow of fluid to the consumer is very short, being only sufliciently long to loosen the cap screws 35, remove the diaphragm casing, and replace the cover member 65.

Due to the fact that the entire valve cage, valve seat, and valve are removed with the diaphragm chamber these parts may be readily serviced. If desirable, the removable valve seat 25 may be quickly replaced with a similar valve seat and the valves 29 and 3i may also be quickly replaced if necessary.

When the valve seat 26 is replaced on the cage 23, the washers 21 will be so tightened as to maingasket between the annular shoulder 6 of the valve cas'ing'andthe'annular surface l9 will be compressed by tightening .upon the cap screws 36.

This regulator is particularly designedfor 'outdoor service where .it is exposed to rain -or-snw. Theirain'shields 45 and 62 effectively prevent entrance of rain to the diaphragm chamber without the necessity .ofproviding a packed joint 'for the valve stem, thus further insuring that the regulator issensitiveto small pressure changes.

In the modifiedf-orm of our .inventionshownin Figure 4, similar reference characters indicate similarparts to thoseshown in'Figures 1- 3, some of thedetailed constructionbeing omitted for-the purposes of clearness. In this form of our invention the valve'seat is not removable from the valve leasing, but the movable valve which cooperates with said seat is removable when the diaphragmchamber isremoved. The diaphragm chamber formed from the two casings I and 8 has the annular surface 19 for cooperation with the annular shoulder 6 ofathe valve casing I, with a gasket 6 interposed therebetween, the casings being secured together in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1. The reciprocating valve rod l4 passes freely through an enlarged central opening H in the lower portion 1 of the diaphragm chamber, said opening being positioned above the opening 5 in the valve casing.

The valve casing I has an integral tubular member 12 extending inwardly from the inlet or high pressure entrance 3, the inner end of said member 12 forming the valve seat for a pivoted valve member 13. Valve member 13 is formed as a bell crank lever, which is pivoted on the pin 14 mounted in the upper portion of the valve casing I. The arm 15 of the removable valve 13 is pivoted to the lower depending end of the reciprocating valve rod I4 by a pin 16.

The pivot pin 74 upon which the removable valve 13 is mounted is an extension of a threaded plug 14' removably threaded into the side wall of the valve casing l, and has the pintle portion 14 thereof positioned within the valve casing, upon which the valve member 13 is pivoted.

When it is necessary to service the valve or the valve seat in this form of our invention, the diaphragm is removed in a similar manner to that described in connection with Figures 1-3. After the bolts holding the two casings together have been loosened, the pivot pin I4 is removed from the side of the valve casing I, thus freeing the pivoted valve member 13. When the diaphragm casing is removed'or separated from the valve casing the valve member 13 is passed through the opening 5 in the valve casing. If the valve seat needs re-grinding the grinding tool may be inserted through the open top 5 of the valve casing, and if the valve 13 needs re-facing such operation may be readily accomplished. In re-assembly, the two casings are positioned together with the gaskets therebetween and the plug 14' is rethreaded in position with the pivot pin vI l inserted through the side wall of the casing l to engage with the bell crank valve 13.

In the form shown in Figure 5 the valve cage is removable from the valve casing with the diaphragm casing but said valve cage is not integral with the lower section of the diaphragm casing as in Figures 1-3. In this form of our invention wherein similar reference characters are utilized to indicate like parts hereinbefore described, the valve casing l is provided with an interior partition 8| with a central lower opening'therein. The valve cage 82 of this form of our invention is positioned within an annular slot-83 of the lower section 1 .of the diaphragm casing, said valve cage having a close fit against theshoul-der 33. The engagement between thechamber l and the valve cage 82 is of such a nature that these parts are 5 ports 84 in the side Walls thereof, suitable pack- 1 ings or gaskets being provided between the seating surfaces. The removable valves 29 and 3! control passage of fluid from the high pressure entrance conduit 3 to the lower pressure conduit 4.

Servicing .of this form of our invention is 2.0- complished'as follows. When the means holding the diaphragm casing to the valve casing are removed, said means being similar to the cap screws 36 shown in Figures 1 to 3, these two casings may be separated. When this separation takes place the valve cage 82 is removed with the diaphragm casing due to the frictional fit between the portion 83 of the chamber 1 and the valve cage 82. Therefore, the valve cage and the valve are removed with the diaphragm chamber. A cover member such as shown in Figure 3, may then be positioned over the valve casing, and the flow of fluid may be continued while servicing of the valve is taking place. This form of our invention has the advantage of removability of the valve cage, whereby such cage may be more readily ground and serviced and may be replaced if necessary by a new cage. If the valve cage becomes worn such that it must be discarded, the

lower half of the diaphragm chamber 1 need not be discarded since the valve cage is removable therefrom and a fresh valve cage may be inserted.

In all of the forms of our invention as described, it will be noted that it is unnecessary to provide packing means around the reciprocatmg 5 valve rod, since the diaphragm chamber and the valve chamber are in direct communication. Therefore the regulator is more sensitive to slight changes in pressure due to the elimination of the usual packing glands around the valve rods.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:--

l. A pressure regulator comprising a valve casing having an opening in one wall thereof, a diaphragm casing having an opening in one wall thereof and removably secured to said valve casing with said openings in registration, a pressure responsive element in said diaphragm cas- 7O ing, a valve cage carried by said diaphragm casing and extending into said valve casing, a dividing wall in said valve casing having an annular surface against which said valve cage engages, a valve seat on said cage,a reciprocating valve for cooperaticn with said seat and operatively connected with said pressure responsive element, and

common means for securing said casings in fluid tight engagement and said valve cage in fluid tight engagement with the annular surface on said dividing wall.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve cage is removably secured to said diaphragm casing.

3. A pressure regulator comprising a valve casing having an opening in the upper wall thereof, a diaphragm casing having an opening in one Wall thereof and removably secured to said valve casing with said openings in registration, a diaphragm in said diaphragm casing, a valve rod secured to said diaphragm carrying a valve and extending into said valve casing, a guide bushing for said valve rod carried by said diaphragm casing, a valve cage having a valve seat thereon carried by said diaphragm casing, a dividing wall in said valve casing having a surface against which said valve cage engages and means for securing said diaphragm casing and said valve casing in fluid tight engagement with the valve cage in fluid tight engagement with said surface on the dividing wall.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said valve cage is integral with said diaphragm casing.

5. A pressure regulator comprising a valve casing having a transverse inlet and outlet and an opening in the top thereof, a wall dividing the inlet and outlet and having an opening therethrough in alignment with the opening in the top, a diaphragm casing carrying a valve cage extending into said valve casing and bearing against said dividing wall, a valve seat member threaded into said cage, a diaphragm in said diaphragm casing, a valve stem connected to said diaphragm and passing through the valve seat member, and a valve member removably secured to said valve stem.

ALLEN D. MACLEAN. WALTER H. PARKER. 

